La Liga Round 25 Results: Atletico maintain perfect home record

By Martin Macdonald

A penalty from Radamel Falcao saw Diego Simeone's men uphold their 100% record at Vicente Calderon, while there were vital wins for Betis and Real Sociedad

ATHLETIC 1-3 REAL SOCIEDAD

Real Sociedad came from behind to record an impressive 3-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao in the Basque derby on Friday evening.

Sociedad had picked up just one point in visits to San Mames since 2001, and the same old story looked to be on the cards when Athletic took the lead a half-hour in. Jon Aurtenetxe whipped in a cross to the back post, and Ibai Gomez was on hand to fire home a terrific volley.

However, Philippe Montanier's men equalised just four minutes later when Antoine Griezmann sent the ball home with a header following Gonzalo Castro's cross.

The visitors took the lead 25 minutes from time when Athletic goalkeeper, Raul, failed to collect a cross and Imanol Agirretxe gratefully netted from close range. Carlos Vela ensured the win 10 minutes later with a lovely strike into the far corner from the edge of the box.

Sociedad are now aiming for Europe, having moved up to fifth place in La Liga.

MALLORCA 1-3 GETAFE

Two goals in the last 10 minutes from Adrian Colunga gave Getafe a 3-1 win over Mallorca at the Iberostar Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The hosts were the better side in the first half, and took the lead midway through when Giovani dos Santos cut in from the right wing and fired a left-footed strike past Miguel Angel Moya.

However, the match would turn on its head 20 minutes from time when Getafe were awarded a penalty. The ball was judged to have struck the arm of defender, Nunes, despite replays showing it struck the Mallorca man's chest. Diego Castro dispatched the spot-kick to make it 1-1.

Colunga completed the comeback eight minutes from time when he headed Federico Fernandez's cross off the post and in. He earned his brace and completed the win for the Madrid side four minutes later when he volleyed home from Jaime Gavilan's cross.

ZARAGOZA 2-2 VALENCIA

Valencia fought back from two goals down to earn a 2-2 draw against La Liga strugglers, Real Zaragoza, on Saturday evening.

Manolo Jimenez's men made the perfect start to the match, and went ahead after just four minutes. Helder Postiga was brought down inside the area and Apono slotted away the resulting penalty to make it 1-0.

The hosts doubled their lead just after the half-hour mark when Apono whipped in a free kick from the left-hand side and Postiga bulleted a diving header into the net.

However, they were pegged back just four minutes later when Roberto Soldado cleverly dummied Aly Cissokho's cross, allowing Jonas to control and pass the ball into the corner.

Zaragoza had opportunities to take the game beyond Valencia but los Che eventually equalised 20 minutes form time when Jonas stuck out a leg to direct Victor Ruiz's flick on past Leo Franco.

The Zaragoza goalkeeper was then sent off for a deliberate handball outside of his box, but the home side held on for the last 10 minutes to claim a point.

RAYO 1-2 REAL VALLADOLID

A goal in the last 10 minutes from Manucho saw Real Valladolid come out narrow 2-1 winners over Rayo Vallecano on Sunday morning.

The first half was relatively bereft of goalscoring chances, and it took until the 71st minute for the opening goal to be registered. It was the visitors who struck first when Jordi Amat unluckily sent the ball into his own net with a deflection off the back of his head.

However, he redeemed himself in sensational style just a minute later when he teriffically lobbed goalkeeper, Dani Hernandez, from the halfway line.

The comeback was complete 10 minutes from time when Alberto Bueno stole the ball from Alejandro Galvez and drove towards goal, before squaring inside for Manucho to slot home.

CELTA 2-1 GRANADA

Abel Resino's tenure as Celta coach got off to the perfect start on Sunday as his side narrowly defeated Granada 2-1 at Balaidos.

The home side had failed to register a La Liga win in their past six outings, but their quest to end their recent slump got off to a good start, as they took the lead after 24 minutes. Iago Aspas found space inside the six yard box and cooly guided the ball into the far corner with a right-footed strike.

They were pegged back just four minutes later when Odion Ighalo volleyed into the corner from 12 yards out. The hosts manages to recover, though, and snatched the points nine minutes from time when Mario Bermejo's scuffed strike somehow found the back of the net.

ATLETICO 1-0 ESPANYOL

A first half penalty kick from Radamel Falcao was enough for Atletico Madrid to maintain their perfect record at home in the league this season, as Diego Simeone's men came out 1-0 winners over Espanyol at the Vicente Calderon.

Diego Costa looked to be in the mood from the get-go, and his pace and power was proving to be a thorn in the side of the Barcelona-based side. The Brazilian earned a penalty 10 minutes before the break when he burst into the box, only to be tripped up by Espanyol defender, Hector Moreno.

Falcao expertly dispatched the penalty to make it 1-0.

The hosts suffered a set-back just before half-time when Gabi was shown his second booking of the match and was subsequently sent off.

The second half was a tight affair, with neither goalkeeper being extensively tested, which meant that Atletico saw out the match without too many hassles.

BETIS 3-0 MALAGA

Betis moved to within three points of fourth-placed Malaga with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Manuel Pellegrini's men on Sunday evening.

The hosts came flying out of the blocks, and opened the scoring within a minute. Jorge Molina headed in from Joel Campbell's cross to the near post, sending the home support into raptures.

Pepe Mel's outfit doubled their lead on the half-hour mark when Mario out-fought and out-jumped Martin Demichelis to bullet a header home from Benat's floated cross.

They made it 3-0 just before the break when Dorlan Pabon followed up on his own shot to slot home after Willy Caballero had made the initial save.

Any hope of a comeback for Malaga was ended when Ignacio Camacho was sent off for a second bookable offence, compounding a horrible day for the visitors.